


Electromagnetic Pulse

by DeviantXen



Series: Hank and Connor - Life after the Revolution [8]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Connor, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor is a cinnamon roll, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Grumpy Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson Swears, Hank Anderson is Bad at Feelings, Hank Anderson is So Done, Hank Being Awesome, Parent Hank Anderson, Poor Connor, Post-Canon, Worried Hank Anderson, hurt!Connor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 13:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15144308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviantXen/pseuds/DeviantXen
Summary: "Stationed across this entire house are small EMP emitters. If I press this button they will activate, frying electrical components within a twenty-meter radius. I’m no expert on androids but I’m fairly certain that they’re full of electrical components.”Hank has to make a choice. His job? Or his partner? Or maybe the choice will be taken out of his hands. Either way, things aren't looking good for Connor.





	Electromagnetic Pulse

**Author's Note:**

> I said I wasn't gonna write for this fandom but here I am. Connor is just far too precious. It's probably a little rough, but hey, wrote it in two days.
> 
> Just to add. Simon didn't die in my playthrough, so Connor never felt Simon's fear of death. This is also post-canon from the good end, you know the one.

 

“So, this is where our sick bastard lives, eh?” Lieutenant Hank Anderson said, pulling his car up to the curb of a surprisingly elite neighborhood. It wasn’t the sort of place you expected to find a sadistic serial killer that had a fondness for tearing off android limbs like a child might pull the legs off a spider. They had been tracking the man known as Adam Brooke for weeks now. Originally, he had gone by the nickname ‘Blue Death’ as all androids discovered, were in rooms drenched in their own Blue Blood. From the walls, to the floors, to the ceiling. It had startled Connor, the first time he stepped inside a Blue Death crime-scene and witnessed the massacred horror that he been left behind. Re-construction had been hard on his mental processors. He couldn’t prevent himself from imagining what it must have been like to be tortured like that, to _die._ The man had been meticulous. Having not even left a single trace of DNA across any of the crime scenes and having destroyed the androids to the point of making reactivation impossible. Until now. They had come alone, without informing the DPD. Connor had wanted to apprehend the man himself, it almost felt _personal._ Plus, he was almost certain that if the DPD found out about the fact that Connor had identified the man then Brooke himself would likely disappear.  
  
“My records show that Adam Brooke AKA the Blue Death has resided in this residence for exactly four years, three months and six days. There is a 96% chance that our assailant is inside, judging by the fact that the bedroom lights are still on and the security system is active.” Connor replied, scanning the system. It was state-of-the-art. But so was Connor. RK800 was probably the only android in circulation that could trip such an advanced security system. “May I borrow your phone, Lieutenant?”  
  
“Uh, sure?” Hank pulled out his communications device and handed it to his android partner, wondering what the guy was up to. Connor unlocked it, smiled at the picture of him and Sumo on the home screen, and then opened what he needed. Adam Brooke was an actor. It wasn’t hard to find a video clip of one of his performances on the mass video sharing website. It took a moment for Connor to synchronize his voice synthesizer perfectly to Brookes deep drawl.  
  
“It’s creepy when you do that, Connor.” Hank commented. He wasn’t sure what was worse, the skin-crawling weirdness of Connor impersonating a voice, or the disgust of watching him put other people’s bodily fluids in his mouth. Probably the latter. Once he was finished, he handed Hank his phone back. “Are you ready to do this?”  
  
“Yes. It’s time we brought this killer to justice.” Connor nodded, getting out the car with Hank. The pair made their trek towards the extravagant house, enclosed between tall brick walls covered in creeping ivy and a thick barred titanium gate.  
  
“So, what’s the plan, Connor?” Hank asked, inspecting the giant gate. There was no way that Brooke would let them in, even with a good excuse, the man would probably remain suspicious. After all, it was the middle of the night.  
  
“Hacking the gate would alert Brooke of our presence almost immediately. The gate itself will take an estimate of seven seconds to open wide enough for us both to fit through. It will then take around two minutes and twenty-seven seconds to reach the front of the house, by which point either Brooke himself will have fled via one of the many sports cars he has parked around the back of the estate, or alerted the police of a break in. More likely the former considering his current avoidance of the law.” He explained. They needed the element of surprise. Connor stepped back and scanned the walls with the intention of finding a way up, pre-constructing possible routes.  
                
\- _Run and jump at the wall. 0% chance of success. Wall is too high._  
  
\- _Climb the Ivy. 11% chance of success. Plants unlikely to hold weight._  
  
\- _Climb the gate. 87% chance of success. But 99.8% chance of setting off the alarm._  
  
_\- Run up wall and use to propel self to nearby tree branch. 93% chance of success. Climb tree. Use overhanging branch to jump onto wall. 89% chance of success._  
  
  
  
After a moment of calibrating his joints, Connor took a run at the wall, vaulted from the brickwork, grabbed hold of a sturdy branch, and pulled himself up with ease. Perfect execution. He then clambered up a few more branches and gracefully leapt onto the wall with absolute precision.  
  
“You know I can’t do all that fucking fancy footwork Connor, how do you suppose I get up there?” Hank frowned, crossing his arms. Connor never ceased to impress him with his ability to parkour his way to places Hank deemed weren’t worth the effort. He’d made a lot more arrests since partnering with Connor for this very reason. From the higher vantage, Connor quickly scanned the area and located a large empty recycling bin that someone had left out. The material was sturdy enough to hold Hank’s weight he calculated.  
  
“The bin, lieutenant.” Connor gestured towards the thing across the street. Hank gave him a quick nod and headed towards it, dragging the sturdy thing towards the wall where he gently tipped it onto it’s side. He stepped up onto it as Connor leant down and held out his hand, ready to help Hank up.  
  
“You sure you can hoist me up there, kid?”  
  
“Don’t worry Lieutenant, I’m stronger than I look.”  
  
“If you say so.” Hank said. He trusted Connor’s judgement. It was hard not to with the android’s analytical brain that could predict millions of outcomes in less than a second. If Connor said he could do something, then he probably could. Lt. Anderson jumped and grabbed Connor’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled up enough to grab the brickwork himself. It took a whole bunch of swearing for him to motivate his muscles to actually drag his ass to the top though. He was getting too old for this kinda shit.  
  
“Now what?” Hank muttered, a little breathless. Connor moved into a crouch to keep in the shadows and once again analyzed the area for the safest route down. He had a 91% chance of remaining undamaged by dropping to the grass below from their current position, but Hank however, had a 35% chance. There was no way Connor was going to risk that. Instead he located a bunch of thick shrubbery just a few meters away. He gestured for Hank to follow him as he began creeping across the wall’s edge. Once he was above them, he glided off the wall and silently into the bushes. Hank was somewhat reluctant to follow.  
  
“It’s a 2.3 meter drop you’ll have a–”  
  
“Just shut up, Connor. I don’t need to know the statistics, ok?”  
  
“Right.”  
  
“You got this Hank. It’s just a little fucking drop. If that goofy android can do it, then so can you.” He muttered under his breath, rolling his shoulders and shaking out his hands. He took a deep breath and pushed himself off the ledge, stifling a yell as he plummeted into the plant-life below. “Oh, fuck me. That was actually…pretty fun.”  
  
Connor cracked a small smile as he helped him out of the now deformed bushes. Back on his feet, Hank brushed himself off and straightened out his jacket.  
  
“You got a leaf in your hair, Connor.” He then said, still exhilarated. He reached out and plucked the offending leaf from the androids otherwise perfectly styled hair.  
  
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”  
  
“You’re welcome.”  
   
  
The pair crossed the well-manicured lawn under the cover of darkness and two minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, they reached the front door. Connor deactivated his synthetic skin, exposing the white plastic of his android hand. He placed his palm against the door to directly interface with the system. It took less than a second for him to convince the mainframe into allowing them access.  
  
“Nice.” Hank commented. They both stepped through the automated doors, where the secondary security system kicked in, as Connor had expected.  
  
“This is security protocol 17-B. Please identify yourself.”  
  
“De-activate alarm.” Connor said, flawlessly impersonating Brooke’s voice, while straightening up his tie.  
  
“Welcome home, Mr. Brooke.”  
  
  
“It won’t be long until Brooke figures out we’re here.” Connor stated. He had downloaded the blueprints of the manor upon interacting with its mainframe. The light that was on came from the master bedroom in the right wing. “Follow me.”  
  
Connor lead Hank down the various corridors and came to a halt outside the bedroom door where he tuned in his audio processors and listened. There was movement inside. He nodded to Hank who pulled his gun out from the holster.  
  
“Let me take it from here.” He quietly directed. Despite Connor being an official member of the Police Force, the law against androids carrying weapons was still in play. The android nodded and backed up, allowing Hank to lead the way. This whole thing wasn’t official protocol. But Hank didn’t particularly care. This man was too dangerous to be given the chance to escape. And there was no way Hank was going to watch Connor be slowly eaten up by guilt any longer. Without even a warning Hank kicked down the door. He immediately spotted the assailant, hovering over his desk.  
  
“Don’t move!” Lt. Anderson ordered, gun aimed directly at the man. Brooke grabbed something off the wood before slowly turning around with his arms raised above his head. Plastered on his face was a small smirk. Hank didn’t like it at all. “What is it your holding!?”  
  
“You think I don’t have measures in place for such an event as this?” Brooke grinned, revealing the device in his hand. “This here, is my escape route.”  
  
“It appears to be some kind of switch.” Connor said.  
  
“Stationed across this entire house are small EMP emitters. If I press this button they will activate, frying electrical components within a twenty-meter radius. I’m no expert on androids but I’m fairly certain that they’re full of electrical components.” Brooke said, smugly. “So. It’s your choice officer. If you want to stop me, you’re gonna have to shoot me. Do you risk your android’s life, wagering that you can fire before I press this button? Or do you let me go?”  
  
“You asshole.” Hank hissed.  
  
“Shoot him, Hank.” Connor said without hesitation.  
  
“What?” The older man turned towards his partner. The fucking idiot.  
  
“We can’t let him get away. We can’t give him the opportunity to kill another innocent android.”    
  
“Connor I’m not signing your death warrant.” He argued. It wasn’t like before, if Connor died now, there was no coming back. He couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t live through it. Not again. Hank slowly lowered his weapon.  
  
“Good choice.” Brooke said. He gingerly made his way towards the window and opened it out. Just a small drop down and up a cobblestone path and he would be in his garage, free. He was halfway out the window when he turned towards the pair. “You know, I never said I wouldn’t press it, even if you did let me go.” The switch let out an audible click. Connor felt the pulse before he could process it. It ran through his body like fire, frying biocomponents, burning wires and destabilizing his Thirium pump regulator.  
  
“Connor!” Hank yelled, catching the android before he hit the floor. He glanced at the window, just to see Brooke disappear through it.  
  
“D-Don’t let h-him…get…away.” Connor muttered, voice hoarse. Error messages flashed in front of his distorting optics and static grated his corrupted audio processor.  
  
               _Systems operating at 4.2%_  
           _Entering Low Power Mode._  
_Shutdown in 23 minutes._  
  
  
“Connor I’m not le–”  
  
“Please.” He uttered, weakly grabbing Hank’s wrist.  
  
“Fine. But don’t you dare go shutting down on me.” Lt. Anderson said sharply, picking up his gun. He rushed towards the window and looked down. Lights lit up the back garden and the shadowed figure running across a paved pathway. Hank knew he had no chance of catching up to the much younger man on foot. The only option he had: was to shoot from here. But if there was one thing that Brooke probably didn’t know, it was that Hank was top of his class in marksmanship. Even now his aim and eyesight were as sharp as ever. He found his target. And fired. Brooke fell flat as the bullet pierced his heart. A perfect shot. One even an android would be proud of. _Android_. Hank dropped his gun and turned back towards Connor lying on the floor. His chest was lit up an alarming red and his simulated breathing raspy. Not good. Hank was back at his side in a flash, gently maneuvering Connor’s head to rest on his lap. His LED was flashing on and off, locked in it’s red state.  
  
“D-Did you g-get him?” The android asked, managing to just make out Hank’s features.  
  
“Yes, Connor. I got him.” He nodded. Good.    
  
“I…I need h-help. G-Gonna shutdown…in…t-twenty minutes.”  
  
“Twenty minutes? Fuck.” Hank cursed. The nearest CyberLife Hospital was fifteen minutes away by car and that was if there wasn’t any traffic. “Can you stand?”  
  
“N-No. Both l-legs are n-non-operational.” Connor muttered. Most of his body was malfunctioning. He could just about move his fingers and maybe his hands. But that probably wouldn’t be for very long.  
  
“Shit. Alright. Guess I’m just gonna have to carry ya then.” He said, determined. He hooked one of his arms under Connor’s knees, while the other supported his shoulders. He then lifted, praying his back wouldn’t give out. Connor wasn’t heavy like a human. He didn’t have muscles or fat. He was plastic, wires and lightweight metal. Hank remembered the last time he had carried someone like this. The worst day of his life. He wasn’t about to have a repeat of the past, not if he could help it.  
  
Lt. Anderson was careful as he carried Connor towards the front gate. At least the thing could be opened manually by a button from the inside. It was tricky to open the passenger door to his car while both his arms were occupied, but he somehow managed it. Tentatively, he placed Connor onto the seat, shaking him by the shoulders when he saw the android’s eyes beginning to flutter closed.  
  
“You stay with me, Connor.” He ordered.  
  
“S-Sorry…Lieutenant.”  
  
He circled the car’s bonnet and slipped into the driver’s seat. Key in the ignition he fired up the engine and began to drive, sirens wailing. Connor could do nothing except watch the countdown. Twenty minutes became ten minutes. Ten minutes became five. It was going too fast. He wanted it to stop.  
              

* * *

  
  
“Oh, for fucks sake!” Hank growled, thumping his steering wheel as he veered up behind a fucking lorry of all things. They were just around the corner. Just round the _fucking_ corner. He turned to check on Connor. “How long left?”  
  
“Three minutes…and forty-eight…seconds.”  
  
“Fuck.” He banged the steering wheel again.  
  
“Hank…I’m…I’m _scared_.” Connor muttered. He hadn’t felt like this before, this sense of dread. Now understanding the true finality of death. There was nothing after this. No reincarnation. No android heaven. Just nothing. He was terrified.  
  
“It’s alright son, you’re gonna be fine, I’ll get you to that hospital, I promise.” Hank reassured him. They were the same words he had said to his son all those years ago. The exact same. He turned back to the windscreen right as the goddamn truck finally moved out of his way. With his foot pressed hard against the accelerator he raced down the rest of the street and around the corner. The car came to a screeching halt outside the converted CyberLife factory. No longer did it create androids. Now it just manufactured biocomponents and housed gallons upon gallons of Thirium 310. Instead of marketing to humans like it had previously, CyberLife marketed directly to androids. Just like a human would pay for surgery, androids would pay for replacement parts.  
  
“We’re here, Connor. We’re here.” Hank said, kicking open his car door. A second later he’s wrenching open the other.  
  
“Two minutes…Hank…” Connor spluttered, almost falling out onto the asphalt. Hank circled one of the android’s limp arms over his shoulders and then lifted him up. With a hurried step, Hank approached the large white building and barged in through the automated doors.  
  
“I need help. It’s an emergency.” Hank shouted, breathless. The android receptionist, an ST300 named Jenny, rushed towards them. White plastic fingers touched Connor’s face as she took the reading of his current condition.  
  
“Sixty-eight seconds till shutdown.” Jenny called out, alerting all nearby MP600’s. Before Hank could even blink he was surrounded by androids and Connor was being taken from his arms. “We’ll take it from here.”  
  


* * *

  
  
After the initial shock had died down, Hank was directed towards the waiting area. He perched himself on one of the uncomfortable plastic seats and buried his face in his hands. The receptionist had informed him that he wouldn’t be waiting long. Nevertheless, every second felt like an hour. Then someone tapped him on the shoulder. Hank looked up to find the familiar bi-coloured eyes of Markus.  
  
“Lieutenant Anderson, I thought I saw you.” Markus said softly, reclining into the chair beside the man.  
  
“What the hell are you doing here?”  
  
“I volunteer at this place. I used to work as a carer. So, when I’m not leading the androids, I come here and try and help out as much as I can. I’ve heard I have quite a good bedside manner.” He said. Ever since Carl passed away, there had been a hole in his life. Markus always found peace in looking after others.    
  
“Well aren’t you a fuckin’ saint?” Hank muttered, gruffly.  
  
“You’re here for Connor, I assume?”  
  
“Yupp.”  
  
“I see. Well if you don’t mind, I’ll wait here with you.”  
  
“Whatever.”  
  


* * *

  
  
“Hank Anderson?” Jenny called. The Lieutenant sprung to his feet and raced over to the front desk. The android gave him a soft smile upon greeting.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“You’ll be glad to know that we’ve stabilized Connor’s condition.”  
  
“Oh thank God.” Hank slumped against the heavy wood. For a moment there, he couldn’t help but think the worst. Last time it had been the worst.  
  
“But we must inform you that being a state-of-art prototype, we haven’t got the parts on hand to fix an RK800 model. We’ve ordered them from the main factory but they’re going to take at least eighteen hours to deliver.”  
  
“So where is he now?”  
  
“We’ve got him hooked up to an old regulator machine that’ll keep him running in the meantime. It’s not a long-term solution, but it’ll keep the Thirium pumping until we can get the replacement parts tomorrow.” She explained.  
  
“Can I go see him?”  
  
“Of course. This way please.”  
  
  
Lt. Anderson followed Jenny down the hall, passing rooms which were filled with broken androids missing limbs, segments of synthetic skin, and even eyeballs.  
  
“He’s in here,” Jenny said, gesturing towards a door. “I’ll leave you to it.”  
  
Hank thanked her before she disappeared back down the corridor. He then turned his attention to the electronic hand-print scanner on the wall. After placing his palm against the device, the door glided open. The first thing Hank noticed was the machine. It was large, clunky and most certainly outdated, probably used in the early days before androids became mass manufactured. Connor lay on a bed, connected to the machine through tubes and wires stemming from the socket in his chest where his Thirium Pump Regulator usually sat. He looked like he was asleep. It was weird to see him like that. Connor never slept. All Hank could think, was that the android looked more human than ever. Noticing a chair near the bed, Hank crept towards it. Only to trip over a bunch of wires. And slam straight into the machine with a loud thunk.  
  
“Shit.” He cursed. The noise alerted Connor, waking him from standby. He managed to crane his head to see Hank stumble his way over to the metal rimmed chair and all but slump into it. “Sorry for err…waking you.”  
  
“Don’t worry about it, Lieutenant.” Connor said, smiling just a little. It was good to see him. “Did you call the Detroit Police Department and tell them about Brooke?”  
  
“Of course, Connor. All I could think about while I carried my dying partner in my arms was I better call the cops and tell them I shot dead the scumbag killer they were looking for, after completely disregarding protocol.”  
  
“Sarcasm?” The android cocked an eyebrow.  
  
“Yes Connor, sarcasm.”  
  
“Right.”  
  
Hank let out a sigh. He knew better than to be snippy with Connor right now. But he was on edge. Sitting here with the kid like this, damaged and broken. It was hard to believe that he was going to be ok. But he was. Tomorrow he’d be as good as new.  
  
“I apologize if my current state brings back unpleasant memories, Lieutenant.” Connor uttered. Hank almost laughed. Of course, the stupid android would be more concerned about upsetting him, than worrying over his own physical wellbeing.    
  
“Don’t apologize Connor, it’s not your fault.” He shook his head. It was Brooke’s fault. If it wasn’t for the fact he was already dead, Hank would most certainly shoot him again. And again. And again, for good measure. His anger subsided immediately when he saw Connor suddenly flinch and let out a small cry. The sound startled Hank and kicked his parental instincts into overdrive. “You alright, son?”  
  
“Okay…I’m okay. Just my wiring. It keeps sparking.” Connor uttered, a little roughly. He relaxed his grip on the sheets he had been reflexively clutching. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just…unpleasant.”  
  
“Right…” Hank said. He had almost forgotten that androids couldn’t feel pain. Even if it looked like they sometimes did. He supposed it must have been a programmed simulation, to make them look more human. But still, androids must feel _something_ when a bullet passes through their system, or an electric pulse fries their wiring. They must know something is wrong.  
  
“How long is it going to take to get my replacement parts?” Connor asked. He didn’t like not being able to operate his legs, to be confined to a bed, to feel so _exhausted._ He knew it wasn’t real exhaustion, like a human would feel after a hard day’s work. It was just his systems, wanting to return to standby mode to preserve what little functionality he still had.  
  
“About eighteen hours. So, you’re stuck here for the night, kid.” Hank patted the android on the shoulder, in an attempt at being comforting.  
  
“Those parts are going to be expensive, Hank.”  
  
“Well you’re an official member of the Detroit Police Department now, you’re insured like the rest of us reckless bastards.” He laughed, slouching back against the horribly uncomfortable chair. “Besides even if you weren’t I’d pay for them.”  
  
“You would?” Connor cocked his head to the side, as if to process the sentiment. The cost would put the man back a few months wages at least.  
  
“Of course, I would, you fucking idiot. Do you think I could put a price on your life?” Lt. Anderson couldn’t stop himself from flicking Connor on the temple, right beside his flickering LED. The android smiled. He had been doing that a lot recently. Smiling. It was an impulse reaction of being around Hank. The Lieutenant was his friend after all. No, he was his _family._ Another wire sparked. Connor tried to suppress the wince that followed but couldn’t quite manage it. This was going to keep happening as long as he stayed active.  
  
“I think I need to go back into standby, Lieutenant.” Connor sighed. He didn’t particularly like going into standby. It was disorientating and scrambled his internal clock.  
  
“You mean that weird android sleep?”  
  
“Correct.”  
  
“Alright then. I’ll just wake you tomorrow.” Hank replied, shuffling in his seat in a vain attempt to at least try and get comfy. He was going to be here a while after all. Maybe he could ask for a cushion.  
  
“Wait. You don’t plan on staying here, do you?”  
  
“Take a wild guess, kid.” The older man snorted. As if he was going to leave this dumb android’s side for anything longer than taking a piss or getting a coffee. Which was a thought. He wondered if there were a coffee machine around here. He could do with some caffeine.  
  
“You know that’s not necessary. I am perfectly fine here on my own.”  
  
“Save it, Connor. I’m staying and that’s that.” He crossed his arms. “Now go do your sleep thing and shut up.”  
  
“Standby.”  
  
“Whatever.”  
  
“Goodnight Hank.” Connor said. Admittedly, he was glad that the man was to stay at his side. He supposed it made him feel… _safe_. Yes, safe was the word for it.  
  
“Yeah G’night, kid.”  
  
The android closed his eyes and allowed his systems to slow down, until they were nothing more than background processes. Once he was sure that Connor was asleep – or on standby – Hank did something he hadn’t done in a very long time, something he didn’t expect to do at all. He kissed Connor on the forehead. The way he used to do for Cole every night. He was almost surprised at himself for doing it. But it felt right. Not many people were as lucky as he was. Connor would never replace Cole, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t adopt another kid. Even if that kid was a goofy looking android with a weird voice. He didn’t mind though. He got to be a dad again. And that was wonderful.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed~
> 
> How doth one write Connor?  
> Also felt Markus just needed a small appearance. He is precious, too. 
> 
> Kinda wanna turn this into a longer fic lol. I also have an annoying amount of headcanons. Maybe I'll make a series, who knows. Damn you D:BH for being an awesome game. 
> 
> Kudos and comments appreciated of course~


End file.
